How Did the UCSB Shooter Have All Those Guns?

Many questions hang over the tragic events that transpired in Isla Vista on Friday. One stands out among the rest: Where did Elliot Rodger get all those guns? And why didn't anyone notice?

According to reports, Rodger had a massive amount of weaponry and ammunition with him when he went on a shooting spree on Friday night. When police discovered Rodger dead in his car they also found three semiautomatic weapons and magazines loaded with over 400 rounds of ammunition. It's clear that Rodger meant to take many more lives before police intervened on Friday night. What's more disturbing is that Rodger had amassed this large stash of weaponry in California, a state with one of the nation's most restrictive guidelines. He had purchased the weapons legally and, according to CNN, it had taken him more than a year to plan and purchase the ammunition for his attack.

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Last month the police even visited Rodger at his home after his family had gotten concerned about his behavior. He had been posting thoughts about suicide and homicide on social media and after a relative consulted with a mental health care provider, the authorities were sent to Rodger's home to conduct a welfare check. But Rodger talked his way out of the police coming inside. He was articulate and polite. He was also terrified that he would not be able to go through with his plan.

"I had the striking and devastating fear that someone had somehow discovered what I was planning to do, and reported me for it ... If that was the case, the police would have searched my room, found all of my guns and weapons, along with my writings about what I plan to do with them.

And after the police left:

"If they had demanded to search my room ... [t]hat would have ended everything. For a few horrible seconds, I thought it was all over."

If it was clear to others that Rodger was disturbed, could it have been clear to those who sold him the guns as well? While mental illness is not correlated with perpetrating violence (the mentally ill are actually more likely to be victims), anyone who has seen Rodger's videos can clearly tell that there was something off about him, something that seemed dangerous. In this case could something have been done and could stricter gun laws (those that enforce limits on firearms and ammunition purchased legally) help avoid this kind of tragedy in the future?

Federal law prohibits those under involuntary psychiatric care to have firearms but, unfortunately, at the time the police visited Rodger in April, he did not meet their criteria. Rodger was being seen by multiple therapists in addition to the social worker who allegedly contacted the police about Rodger's behavior just last week. But the treatment being voluntary gave Rodgers a loophole just big enough to slip through. In addition, Rodger was not living on campus and was therefore not subject to university rules.